


last christmas (a christmas carol love story)

by jaws_3



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Merry Christmas!, Parad pops up a couple times and we love him, Post Series, cookies skating drunk dancing and lots of innuendos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21775999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaws_3/pseuds/jaws_3
Summary: Kiriya decides it’s high time he’s makes up for their previous Christmas disaster.
Relationships: Houjou Emu/Kujou Kiriya
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21
Collections: Another Toku Holiday Special (2019)





	last christmas (a christmas carol love story)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiriya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiriya/gifts).



> HAP CHRISTMAS!!!!  
> I was super excited when I saw I got you and more than thrilled at your requests!!!!! I hope this was at least closeISH to what you were looking for! ;v;

The enticing smell of freshly baked sugar cookies greets Emu as he steps into his apartment one snowy December day. The sound of muffled conversation, that’s intermixing with the christmas carols coming from Kiriya’s radio, also filters down the hallway, creating a rather cozy atmosphere. Curious, Emu closes the door behind him softly and pauses on his customary greeting to try and make out some of the words. 

“I think this batch is good,” Someone says with a unique mix of condescension and genuine commendation. Emu starts a bit when he recognizes it to be Parad. “But, compared to your last batch anything semi-edible is decent.” 

Kiriya laughs loudly and the sound immediately warms Emu’s heart. With a smile pulling at his lips—were they baking? _Together_?—Emu toes off his shoes and calls out a loud, “I’m home!” to allow the duo some time to cover their tracks. It isn’t often they spent time together and Emu almost feeds bad interrupting it. 

“He’s home already?” Parad says in quiet confusion, as Kiriya, Emu assumes, whacks him softly on the shoulder.

“Go, go! This is supposed to be a surprise!”

There’s a couple huffs, Parad likely frowning and being as difficult as he pleased, so Emu hums along to the carol playing and takes his time in unwinding his scarf, a present from Poppy last year, from his neck. 

“Remember…” Parard starts, a quiet but threatening edge to his voice, “If you hurt him…” 

Kiriya lets out another laugh, this one fond but exasperated. It’s routine for them by this point as Parad liked to play Big Brother whenever he “allowed” Kiriya and Emu to go on any semblance of a date. Emu had been embarrassed by it at first, but Kiriya found it amusing so they let it be. 

“I know the drill, Parad. I won’t hurt him. Now go! You promised you wouldn’t interrupt! _Again._ ” 

“Do I smell cookies?” Emu calls, finally starting down the hallway. He hears a muffled _thump_ and is mildly concerned that Parad is being more difficult than usual, but this fear is unfounded and it’s only his flour covered boyfriend who greets him when he finally makes it into their kitchen. 

“Welcome home!” Kiriya cheers, the sugar cookies piled high on a plate Emu doesn’t recognize. 

“Since when do you bake?” Emu teases, coming in close to swipe a cookie from the top and press a chaste kiss to Kiriya’s cheek. 

“I’m a man of many talents, Ace.” Kiriya replies with a smirk. “What do you think?” 

Emu knows he’ll smother the man in compliments and kisses regardless of taste, but decides he can make a show of it. He wants to take his time, it’s rare he’s given the opportunity to tease his boyfriend, but as soon as he’s biting in, a… _nostalgic_ feeling is washing over him and he freezes. 

“Are they good?” Kiriya asks, unexpectedly hesitant. 

“Yeah, they’re…” It’s not a lie, they’re still warm and they melt in Emu’s mouth. Soft and buttery with a hint of another flavour Emu can’t quite name, but one that’s suddenly making him very, very homesick. “They’re really good.”

“Then why do you look like you want to cry?” Kiriya asks, a nervous chuckle bubbling out from him. Emu’s gaze snaps up and he blinks away the stinging he feels in the corners of his eyes quickly, pulling out a brighter smile.

“They just reminded me of something, that’s all! They’re really very good, Kiriya-san! Thank you!” To prove his point, Emu quickly finishes his first cookie and reaches for another one. (They really _are_ quite delicious.) 

Kiriya finally seems to relax at this, his usual grin growing wide on his face. 

“Good! I’m glad you like them cause they’re all for you.” 

“You’re not going to have any?” Emu asks, not bothering to hide any surprise he may feel. He usually has to fend off his food tooth and _nail_. 

“Nah, I made them especially for you." Kiriya replies sweetly, leaning up to peck the corner of Emu’s mouth. “Enjoy.” 

Emu would be more flattered by the offer if he hadn’t heard Parad’s earlier comment. He has to wonder how many batches it had taken Kiriya to get to this point and _where_ exactly they all went… 

But, it’s a cute gesture nonetheless, so Emu leans back in to steal a proper kiss to thank him. He tries to deepen it - it’s been a while since Parad has given them any semblance of “alone time” - but Kiriya surprises him by pulling back. 

“Ah-Ah,” he says, wagging a finger in front of Emu’s pouting face. “I have a whole evening planned and I will _not_ be distracted. Even by my _unbearably_ cute boyfriend.” Emu can’t say he isn’t intrigued by the evening planned for him, but _surely_ they could take a _small_ break before it—“Hey! What did I just say?” 

Kiriya huffs at Emu’s second attempt at a kiss, dodging it with a craned neck, so Emu switches tactics and moves to press butterfly kisses along Kiriya’s jawline and the curve of his shoulder. 

“Come on now! You’re hardly playing fair at all!” Kiriya whines and Emu smirks. “Come on, Ace, what do you want to drink for the movie: eggnog or hot chocolate?” 

Now _this_ catches Emu’s attention.

“Movie?”

“Mm! Got all the Christmas classics! We just need a drink and we’ll be ready to go!” Kiriya grins softly at him, sparking a small flush to climb up Emu’s neck. He’s still getting used to being taken care of like this, so he takes refuge in his favourite spot, ducking his head to nuzzle into the crook of Kiriya’s neck as he contemplates his answer. 

“Hot chocolate first. And then we can have eggnog for the second movie.” 

“Oh? You going to last through two?” 

“You did say you had _all_ the classics.” 

It doesn’t take them long to get set up. After Emu changes into some comfier clothes he shows Kiriya how to make his grandmother’s famous hot chocolate—which he’s surprised he has all the ingredients for, truth be told—and after they’ve dropped exactly three marshmallows in each mug, they shuffle over to the couch, treats in hand, and settle in. 

Emu makes a noise of surprise when he realizes Kiriya hadn’t been lying. Nearly every single one of his childhood favourites are offered to him for him to pick from and by the time he finally manages to decide on the first one, his marshmallows have completely melted. 

(This was aided by Emu simply getting too excited about all of them and babbling about the plot for every single one for a good five minutes as he struggled to pick.) 

He pouts a bit — eating the marshmallows when they’re half melted is the best _part_ of hot chocolate! — but denies Kiriya’s offer of getting up to grab new ones. He decides to soothe his aching heart by snuggling in close to his boyfriend instead, blanket wrapped tight around both of them. His poor mood is quickly forgotten when the opening of the movie finally plays and Emu immediately breaks into a play by play of his favourite scenes. 

“I used to watch this all the time as a kid.” Emu whispers so he can still hear the dialogue. “My record is five times in one day.” 

"I’m amazed you didn’t drive your parents crazy.” Kiriya replies with a chuckle and Emu returns with a laugh as well, his more awkward.

“Mom passed away when I was pretty young and my dad wasn’t home a lot so I got free reign on the TV most of the time…” 

There’s a pause and then one of Kiriya’s arms sneak around Emu’s waist to pull him in tight. Kiriya doesn’t say anything, only pressing a lingering kiss on Emu’s temple, resting his forehead there for a spell as well. Emu feels his eyes fall shut, his childhood loneliness slowly ebbing away as he basks in his boyfriend’s warmth. 

His eyes snap back open when he hears a line that signals one of his favourite scenes and he immediately sits back up, unable to hold back the stream of chatter that erupts from him. Explaining all the nuances he’s spotted over the years to Kiriya. They continue this way through both of the movies, snuggling in close only to separate—by a fraction of an inch—whenever an interesting scene comes up. Emu ends up talking over most of it but Kiriya is too captivated by the joy radiating off his boyfriend to pay too much attention to the plot anyways. Besides, they still have a few days until Christmas and he’s sure Emu won’t mind re-watching them a few more times. 

As the credits roll on the second movie, neither of them make any move to stand. Quite happy to stay wound in each other’s arms. Had it been any other time, Emu would have let himself be lulled into sleep. However, he has _plans_ so he shifts to allow himself to squeeze in closer and whisper a happy, “Thank you,” against Kiriya’s mouth. 

“It means a lot to me to be able to watch them with you.” Emu admits, pushing himself up so he can get a better angle and really give Kiriya the kiss he deserves. This time his boyfriend doesn’t pull away, one hand going to the back of Emu’s neck as he happily hums and returns the kiss. Emu keeps it at this level for a few moments, letting himself enjoy the feeling, before he takes Kiriya’s bottom lip between his teeth and sucks on it, earning him a small moan. He can’t help the victorious smirk that curls his lip but when he starts to slip one hand under Kiriya’s shirt, the other man is suddenly pushing him back and _launching_ himself off the couch. 

“All right, Ace! Time for the next place!” Kiriya says and while Emu is less than impressed at being denied for a second time, he takes a lot of pleasure in the slight strain he hears in Kiriya’s voice and the blotch of red the man turns his face to hide. At least he knows he’s getting to him, even if he doesn’t know why Kiriya is so insistent on denying him. 

“Next place?” Emu echoes. “Aren’t movies usually the last thing on a list?” 

“Maybe,” Kiriya grins. “But I needed it to be dark for the second half.” 

Kiriya doesn’t give Emu the chance to even be confused by what he could be planning before he’s yanked off the couch and herded into their bedroom - not for the activity Emu is hoping for, unfortunately - Kiriya cheerfully wrapping the taller man in several layers of warm clothes. Emu’s patience is at least rewarded with several pecks across his face, leaving him blushed and grinning by the time their hands tangle and they’re walking out their apartment door. 

“Do I get a hint?” Emu asks, swinging his leg over Kiriya’s bike. 

“The cookies and movies were your hint.” Kiriya tells him with a secretive grin before he puts on his helmet and ignores the rest of Emu’s confused spluttering. 

The wind is chilly but Emu enjoys any excuse to cling shamelessly to Kiriya’s back, so he hardly minds. He muses on where they could be going (a video game arcade? a restaurant? a concert?) as the scenery flies by, but none of it seems to work with the entirely unhelpful hint Kiriya had given him. He’s no closer to the correct answer by the time Kiriya is parking and suddenly throwing his hands over Emu’s eyes. 

“Hey!” Emu whines, trying to pry them off. 

“It’s a surprise!” 

Emu manages a few more complaints but he doesn’t reach back up, allowing Kiriya to awkwardly maneuver him through several crowds. The sound of carols fill Emu’s ears again (they seem to be ringing from every corner of the city) and another sound also pierces through them, a weird sort of scratching noise that confuses Emu. He isn’t given the time to think much about it before Kiriya is cheering out a loud, “Ta dah!” 

The lights are too bright for him to see right away. Emu has to squint against them so they don’t hurt too much. But, when they readjust, he finds them widening in childlike awe at the scene in front of him. 

“An outdoor skating rink!” Emu gasps. “I didn’t know we had one!”

“Poppy mentioned it to me the other day.” Kiriya explains, looking very pleased with himself. 

“I haven’t gone skating since I was a kid.” Emu says with breathless wonder. “I used to love it.” 

“Good. Let’s go!”

Kiriya intertwines their fingers once more and they make their way towards the front desk in order to borrow some skates. Emu ends up having to tie Kiriya’s for him, the older man nearly breaking an ankle with a yelp when he stands and the skates buckle in, having been done up too loose. Emu’s “reward” for such thoughtfulness is a whispered compliment about how nice he is on his knees. Emu feels his face go hot but gets his revenge by letting his hands slide just a bit north of decent, leaning in and murmuring, “Maybe if _you’re_ good tonight I can show you just how nice I can be.” which makes Kiriya go just the prettiest shade of pink. 

“Right!” Kiriya says, letting out an awkward cough as he shifts in his seat. That’ll show him for being so hands off earlier. “Ready to go?” 

Neither of them do very well. It’s Kiriya’s first time on the ice and Emu hadn’t been lying when he said he hadn’t gone since he was a kid. They do manage a couple laps, hands locked onto each other’s arms, feet barely pushing them forward a few centimetres at a time. They get teased mercilessly by a small group of boys who do literal circles around them at one point. Thankfully, with Kiriya’s charm and Emu’s way with children, they distract the kids by giving them small challenges, like races and jumps and eventually the kids are fond enough they show the couple some tips for moving faster than a snail. 

They only last about an hour.

After Kiriya’s lack of balance sends _Emu_ to the ice for the third time they decide to call it a night. While Kiriya massages his feet and whines about how painful skates can be, Emu slips off to the small cafe the rink hosts to buy them two hot apple ciders—the same drink his father would buy him after they finished skating back when Emu was a boy. Emu doesn’t mention this little tidbit, he just hands Kiriya his cup with a soft smile, but Kiriya still gives his hand a quick squeeze as a thank you anyways. 

Apple ciders in hand, the duo hand back their skates and make their way to a small plaza located not far off to sit and enjoy the city scape. There’s a busker in the plaza as well, who has acquired a small audience, playing rock covers of classic carols. Emu finds himself humming along without realizing it, clapping with the crowd whenever a song ends and waiting to see if he’ll be able to recognize the next one to play. He’s so enthralled he doesn’t notice when he begins to shiver. Kiriya does, however, plucking Emu’s long since empty cup out of his hands and gently tugging him up. 

“Come on,” Kiriya says affectionately. “Let’s go home.” 

They take the scenic route home so they can see some of the lights decorating the city. The wind is still cold, but Kiriya is so incredibly warm where Emu is pressed against him that he simply holds on tighter, more than happy for the small bit of extra time given to them. 

They’re stopped next to a convenience store and Emu feels his smile go softer when he recognizes the song streaming from it. 

_All I want for Christmas, is you~_

Of all songs to be playing, Emu almost laughs that it’s this one. Their first dance had been to it - if you could call drunkenly swaying in a dimly lit bar a dance - just the Christmas before, when Kiriya had finally found a spot on their team. 

(Only for it to be ripped from him not two days later.)

Kiriya drags Emu out for drinks the night following their discovery of the truth behind the dark Ex Aid. Emu tries to blunder his way through paying for both their orders, insisting he has to pay Kiriya back for his distrust - especially since it’s the elder’s faith in him that saved them both - but Kiriya just grins and waves him off. 

“I didn’t give ya a whole lot of reasons to trust me, Ace, don’t worry yourself with it too much.” 

Emu still frowns, remembering the small shake he had seen in Kiriya’s shoulders when Kuroto and Parad swapped places the first time Kiriya tried to expose the truth around Dark Ex-Aid, but he’s not given the chance to push the matter as their first round arrives. 

Kiriya’s just ordered a beer and Emu finds himself a little flustered when their server hands him his cocktail. While Kiriya does give him an amused look over the rim of his glass, he doesn’t say anything. Emu defends his order anyways, expressing his distaste for beer, which earns him a proper laugh. Nothing else is said about it, but Emu does notice Kiriya joins him, ordering himself a cocktail for their second round. 

Several rounds of cocktails, and two rounds of shots, later, the duo is bent over their table, laughing loudly at Emu’s ( _excellent_ ) impression of Hiiro. 

“Please, you have to show that to him. I need to be there for it.” Kiriya says through the breaks in his laughter. Emu has to stifle his giggling in order to give any semblance of a coherent response. 

“Okay.. Okay I’ll do it next time you’re in the CR, I promise.” He says with a wide grin that quickly turns mischievous. “How long do you think it’ll take him to realize I’m making fun of him?” 

“Oh, he won’t even _notice_.” Kiriya replies with renewed laughter. “That’s what’s going to make it _hilarious_.” 

The amusement slowly lulls itself into something calmer and Emu is too lulled by the atmosphere to try and strike up anything new. He’s always been drawn into Kiriya’s orbit and finds himself leaning onto his folded arms, much farther across the table than he needs to be. The older man’s smile is infectious, his aura warm and playful, and Emu’s been a sucker for him since the first time they crossed paths. He finds himself quite happy he doesn’t have to squash the feelings in his heart anymore, now that the weight of Kiriya not exactly being a “team member” has passed. 

“This is nice.” Emu says softly, eyes half lidded. “I’m really happy we did this.” 

All he can see are Kiriya’s ( _very_ _nice_ ) hands from this angle, but he doesn’t mind, bobbing his head to the carols the bar has chosen to play. Kiriya exhales, words seeming to start in his throat, catching Emu’s attention. But when they make eye contact, before Kiriya has the chance to say what’s on his mind, a new song starts and the older man’s wide grin is springing back to his face. 

“Come on, Ace!” Kiriya chirps, hopping down from his stool to grab a startled Emu’s wrist. “We have to dance!” 

“W-wait! Kiriya-san!” Emu protests, his face beginning to flush. “I can’t dance!” 

“Me neither,” Kiriya smirks. “I just wanted a reason to put my hands on you.” 

This shocks a laugh from Emu who then ducks his head in embarrassment. He still lets Kiriya move his hands to sit lightly on Kiriya’s hips, Kiriya keeping his arms loosely tossed over Emu’s shoulders. 

“Come on, it’s a classic.” Kiriya says. Emu glances at him, slightly confused, so Kiriya tilts his head up to indicate to the music playing. “The song!” 

It’s in English, but Emu can still make out and understand a small spattering of the words. His moves are awkward, there’s not nearly enough alcohol in his system to counteract the embarrassment of being held like this in the middle of a semi-busy bar, so Kiriya decides to take matters into his own hands.

“All I want for Christmas is you!” Kiriya suddenly sings, loudly and off-key, to the disgruntlement of many nearby couples but to Emu’s startled and absolute delight. With another grin, Kiriya tightens his hold on the other man and begins to lead them through an awkward dance across the floor, swaying half in time to the music as he continues with his serenade. They just narrowly avoid the rest of the couples, to whom Emu offers several hurried apologies, but the duo is too enraptured to even think of stopping. Before Emu realizes it, Kiriya has his arms completely wound around his neck while Emu’s arms encircle Kiriya’s waist, with hardly a breath of air between them. 

The song finishes and Kiriya drags the final note for much longer than necessary, finishing with a flourish. Emu just laughs - he can’t seem to stop now that he’s with Kiriya - before thanking him for such a beautiful performance. He’s lighter than he’s been in years and he can feel his joy clinging to his smiling lips as he beams down at Kiriya. 

“Has anyone ever told you you’re beautiful?” Kiriya asks suddenly, head tilted up towards him and expression more open and honest than Emu’s ever seen it. Emu feels a dark flush crawl up his neck, staining his already pink cheeks a more vibrant red. Shyly, he ducks his head away and laughs, this time more awkward. 

“Really?” Kiriya asks with genuine disbelief. “No one’s ever told you before?”

“I don’t know if anyone has ever thought it before.” Emu admits, feeling the embarrassment making his entire body go hot. 

“You’ve been hanging around with idiots then, Ace, you’re _gorgeous_.” 

Emu risks a look, peeking at Kiriya through his lashes, terrified of finding some sort of sign the older man is actually mocking him. He’s pleasantly surprised, however, when he can see nothing to indicate anything of the sort. In fact, Kiriya looks rather annoyed at the lack of compliments Emu has received. 

“I’ve been told I’m pretty…?” Emu says tentatively. He was _technically_ told he ‘looked pretty on his knees’ but he’s not quite sure he’s ready to say such a thing to Kiriya _quite_ yet. “If that counts?” 

“It does,” Kiriya huffs. “But you still deserve to be told it a lot more often.” 

“It’s okay if no one else has said it,” Emu says softly, another giggling grin growing on his face at this sort of affection. “I like that you told me first.” 

He lightly knocks his forehead against Kiriya’s and the annoyed expression on the other man’s face vanishes. 

“Always happy to help.” 

As the night wears on they slowly move back to their chairs and eventually outside the bar, bodies pressed too close together for casual friends. 

“What are your plans for the rest of your evening then, Emu?” Kiriya asks, his arm a pleasant and warm weight over Emu’s shoulder. 

“I was thinking of taking you up on your offer,” Emu replies with an innocent voice. Kiriya shoots him a puzzled look. 

“Which offer?” 

“Your first one.” Emu works very hard at keeping his smirk hidden. 

“My first…?” Kiriya repeats, eyes still full with confusion as they dart behind them and towards the bar. “For drinks?” 

“No. When we first met, remember? You offered to let me ride you.” It’s adorable, really, how long it takes for understanding to dawn across Kiriya’s face.

“Well, yeah, but… We did that when we— _oh_ .” Emu doesn’t bother hiding his smirk this time. “Oh, oh, oh, _Ace_.” 

“My place isn’t far,” he says conversationally, voice still far too innocent for what he’s suggesting. “If you want, of course.” 

The hand that had been squeezing his shoulder suddenly moves to the back of Emu’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss that has pleasure shooting through Emu’s spine. When they pull apart, Kiriya’s eyes are incredibly dark.

“Oh, you have _no_ idea.” 

It had been an incredible night. Emu still remembers it well. Unfortunately, another night he remembers well is the one not two days later, when he had been lit by nothing by the grey sky outside his apartment. Kiriya’s gamer driver a heavy weight in his hands. His T.V had been on low and Emu didn’t remember the channel, but the God’s had decided to be extra cruel and just when the screen catches his attention, the same song Kiriya had sung to him starts to play.

_I don’t want a lot for Christmas,_

_There is just one thing I need._

(Emu thought he had cried himself out but he had learned all sorts of things about his emotions that day.)

Shaking his head, Emu works to distract himself from these thoughts. It’s been almost a year since then and he’s still amazed at how much has changed. He gives Kiriya a small squeeze around his waist where he’s still holding on tight and Kiriya squeezes back, taking one hand off his handlebars in order to hold onto Emu’s hand briefly. 

It’s more than enough. 

(For now.)

The moment they enter the apartment, Emu finds himself being kissed senseless against their front door. He can’t help the delighted look that blooms on his face as he makes short work of Kiriya’s coat and scarf, only allowing a break in their kiss if _absolutely_ necessary. Emu laughs when Kiriya kicks off his shoes and they slam against the hallway walls with a resounding _thud_ but Kiriya quickly turns it into a light moan when he focuses his attention on Emu’s neck. 

How they manage to make it to the bedroom is a miracle in and of itself and Emu is very pleased when he learns his patience will _not_ go unrewarded. 

“You drove me wild tonight, you know.” Kiriya whispers hot against Emu’s mouth as Emu’s hands fight with the numerous buttons between him and his boyfriend’s chest. 

“Good.” Emu replies, satisfied. “How dare you be so romantic.” 

“I’ve learned my lesson,” Kiriya says with chuckle, tossing his arms back so his shirt can fall to the floor along with everything else. “Never again, angel.” 

It’s only because Emu knows Kiriya is going to say some sort of cheesy line Emu never thought he’d hear outside of a movie not three seconds after pinning him to the bed that Emu replies, very sternly, “I would hope not.” 

(Emu’s right, of course, and as per usual, he can’t say he’s too mad about it.)

The next morning Emu takes his time in waking up, body sore for all the right reasons and the air too cold for him to even think of detangling himself from his boyfriend. Kiriya’s still fast asleep when Emu begins to stir, so Emu happily presses nuzzling kisses along the older man’s collarbone as he waits for him, thinking back on their impromptu date the night before. All the events felt incredibly nostalgic. All of them something he once hoped to do with the person he planned to bring home to meet his family. In fact…

“What was with the trip down memory lane?” Emu asks, having made the connection between all their mini dates the night before, as Kiriya slowly wakes beneath him. 

“I wanted to make up for last year.” Kiriya admits with a wince. “I originally wanted to do it _on_ Christmas, but then Poppy told me about the party she had planned for the CR so I had to think fast.” 

Kiriya’s eyes soften again as he runs his hands through Emu’s hair.

“I know we didn’t exactly have the… best time last Christmas.” Which, Emu thinks, is the understatement of the year. “So I wanted to make it up to you by letting you relieve some of your favourite childhood memories.” 

“How did you know?” Emu asks softly, finally realizing the homesick feeling he got from the cookies was due to them tasting almost exactly like his late grandmother’s—and also realizing why exactly he managed to have all the tiny ingredients necessary for her special hot chocolate. 

“I asked Parad.” Kiriya tells him with a grin and a shrug. “He wasn’t there for all of it, but he had some ideas on what you might like.” Kiriya brings his hand up the lightly trace Emu’s face. “I think it went pretty well myself.” 

“Yeah,” Emu whispers, entranced. “It was perfect.” 

This time, when Emu presses an insistent kiss on his boyfriend’s mouth, there’s no more dodging, no more wiggling away and fingers being waved in front of his face. Instead, Kiriya goes pliant against him, happy to let Emu take the lead. 

Emu almost can’t believe the happiness that fills his core at this moment. It’s almost bubbling out of him, so he works to give it all to Kiriya, to let him know just how much he means to him. How he can’t imagine his life without him; how he had to live a life without him once and it’s never something he’ll ever return to. All these feelings and more. So much that they’re nearly impossible to express in words, so Emu just hopes this will make do. 

Kiriya seems to understand, Emu can feel his smile as they kiss, as one of his hands slides up the back of Emu’s neck, a low groan sounding from him as Emu nibbles at his lips. Emu’s just about to move up to his elbows to get a better angle when—

“Emu! Emu, get up! They announced a new game!” Parad’s voice echoes loudly through the bedroom as he jumps into existence, giving no thought whatsoever to the idea of maybe _knocking_. 

“Parad!” Kiriya yelps, lurching forward in shock only to slam against Emu’s mouth. Emu also lets out a short cry, bringing one hand to his rapidly swelling lip before ducking down to hide himself in Kiriya’s side with an embarrassed whine. “We have _talked about this_!” 

(Parad does not care.)

(Emu ends up getting up so he can watch the trailer with Parad in the kitchen while Kiriya complains loudly in the bedroom.)

(Kiriya ends up making breakfast for all three of them anyways.) 

And it was a very merry December 23rd indeed. 

**Author's Note:**

> annnnnd scene!!!  
> I had a lot of fun with this one, thinking of all their cute christmas date ideas ;v;  
> I'm not really good at nsfw so I had to fade to black a couple times I'm sorry LOL  
> I realized belatedly I did not add as many carols as I thought I was going to but I liked the title so it stayed rip  
> HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT


End file.
